Triboluminescence? From Infogalactic:
Triboluminescence is an optical phenomenon in which light is generated through the breaking of chemical bonds in a material when it is pulled apart, ripped, scratched, crushed, or rubbed (see tribology). The phenomenon is not fully understood, but appears to be caused by the separation and reunification of electrical charges. The term comes from the Greek τρίβειν ("to rub"; see tribology and the Latin lumen (light). Triboluminescence can be observed when breaking sugar crystals and peeling adhesive tapes.
Destin from Smarter Every Day 2 demonstrates this phenomenon with Peppermint Life Savers and records it at 28,000 frames per second:
Smarter Every Day 2 is his backchannel for informal videos, his primary channel is Smarter Every Day where he produces longer and more formal videos of his experiments.
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